Wednesday 1 June 2022 11:31 PM 'This is who I am': King Richard's Aunjanue Ellis reveals she is bisexual as ... trends now
Aunjanue Ellis revealed that she is bisexual, saying, 'I am Black, I am queer. This is who I am.'
The King Richard actress, 53, speaking with Variety in a piece published Wednesday, said that she previously hadn't spoken about her sexuality, as 'nobody asked.'
The Oscar-nominated star opened up about how there were presumptions made about her: 'Is it because I'm a Black woman from Mississippi? Is it because I'm older?
The latest: Aunjanue Ellis, 53, revealed that she is bisexual, saying in a Variety piece Wednesday, 'I am Black, I am queer. This is who I am.' She was snapped at an Oscars event in LA in March
'I don't know what the mechanics are that goes into them not processing, or them not just being able to believe that in the same way I am Black, I am queer. This is who I am.'
Ellis said that she did not speak about the topic during her multiple public appearances during award season in support of King Richard, as it was not keynote to the topic at hand.
'How do you work that into the conversation, in the middle of me talking about this movie?' said Ellis, who played Oracene 'Brandy' Williams in the feted film. 'I'm not that chick. My job was to talk about King Richard, the Williams family, these wonderful young women I worked with, Will Smith's incredible work in that movie.
'I wasn't going to be like, "And by the way, in case you ain't heard yet …" Because that's artificial.'
Ellis told the publication, 'I don't know what the mechanics are that goes into them not processing, or them not just being able to believe that in the same way I am Black, I am queer. This is who I am'
The Mississippi native in March attended the Essence Black Women in Hollywood Awards March 24 donning a Dolce & Gabbana jacket with the word 'Queer' spelled out in rhinestones on the sleeve, and said that nobody addressed the fashion statement at the time
The Mississippi native in March attended the Essence Black Women in Hollywood Awards March 24